An electronic diesel regulation is described in the "Motortechnische Zeitschrift" 49 (1988), pages 37 to 41. This arrangement regulates or controls different variables such as fuel quantity, rotational speed and injection start in dependence upon various sensor signals. All closed-loop and open-loop functions are monitored. An emergency driving operation is initiated when individual components of the open-loop or closed-loop control become inoperative or defective with the fault being simultaneously stored. In this way, the fault can be easily localized during maintenance work. With this arrangement, faults of individual components of the open-loop or closed-loop control of the internal combustion engine are monitored.